#hsppr

This is my rescue cat KB!

2 years ago my husband and I had been talking about adopting a cat. I have a super severe cat allergy so we spent time exploring our options (none of which involved not having a cat because that would be ridiculous) and we settled on hoping to find a hypoallergenic breed at our local rescue. He literally said the words “if you can find a Russian Blue, we can go pick it up after work.”

So of course I immediately went to my local humane society’s website and what do I find straight away? Russian blue! At the time her name was Isabel and the “give me a treat!” caption coupled with her little double chin in the picture gave me heart eyes forever and ever. We went down to pick her up right after work that same day.

When we first met her she was very timid, and very uninterested in us. We learned she was 3 years old and had been surrendered to the humane society two weeks prior because the family she was with simply didn’t want her anymore. We also learned that same family had declawed this poor cat in ALL FOUR paws, and neglected her dental care to the point where she had to have nearly all of her teeth extracted after she was surrendered. We were already set on bringing her home, but hearing about all she had been through so far made us absolutely certain she was the right cat for us.

We changed her name to Katherine Beatrice, or KB for short (or kibby, kibs, kibbles, etc) and brought her home the same day we met her. She peed on my husband in the car on the way home which was equal parts funny and smelly, she hid in our bathroom for two weeks, and then hid in our spare bedroom for the next 6 months after that. She was so afraid to come out of that room that we ended up having to put her litter box and her dishes up there with her. We would go and sit on the floor of the spare room and just chit chat and wait for her to come out from under the couch so we could see her and try to pet her. Sometimes she would come sit with us, other times she would high tail it back under the couch.

It took her almost an entire year to realize she was safe with us. We let her take her own time exploring the house and getting used to having a dog for a brother. Slowly, we watched her turn into the silliest, snuggliest, happiest kitty in the world. She lays with me every morning at breakfast, and always comes and snuggles on my lap in the evening. She loves to scream at us when it’s time for breakfast, and she loves a good belly rub. Lately she’s been really into chewing my hair and giving me kisses that turn into weird gentle bites.

This one’s Isaac!

This little guy came to us from a family member who was not prepared to take on a mill rescue.

Isaac is a cairn terrier who was rescued from a puppy mill by the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region. He spent the first 8 months of his little life in a teeny kennel and had never been outside or had any positive interactions with humans. At first he was terrified of grass, wind, other dogs, men, a stray leaf. All of it. This little guy was completely overwhelmed. The very first thing he did when he arrived at his original adopter’s home was shred the carpet in the master bedroom. They called me right away and said it was too much and they needed help. I went and picked him up the next day.

Isaac was the most anxious and easily startled boy I’ve ever met. It took us a long time to help him understand that his harness for walks wasn’t trying to kill him, that my husband was a nice man, and that he didn’t need to eat shoes when he got nervous. He was so stressed out that he would lock up anytime someone tried to pet him because he wasn’t expecting a kind touch. It was hard to see a dog so was so afraid.

We have always been ~positive reinforcement~ people when it comes to our animals, but Isaac was in so much trauma when we brought him into our home that we had to redefine what it means to be gentle and patient. It wasn’t enough to interrupt a bad behavior and redirect his attention! We had to be calm and gentle and let him know he wasn’t being physically attacked or threatened or else he would completely panic and freeze up, or launch into a physical attack on our older dog because he just didn’t know what the heck to do. It was a huge challenge for us to overcome the aggression towards our older dog. We had to be constantly vigilant and separate them as soon as it seemed like something was going to set them off. Charlie of course had no idea what was happening or why so we had to be preventative as much as possible when it came to the aggression.

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever gotten about living with an animal was from my friend Tanya. I was complaining that Isaac has shredded another pair of my shoes and she said “Then keep your closet closed! He’s showing you the boundaries he needs.” And that was true! I kept the closet door closed, and we continued to work with him on better outlets for his energy and anxiety and after a while he no longer felt the need to find something to tear up when he was stressed out or scared.

Isaac has been in our home for a year and a half and he’s no longer a nervous shoe eater! He loves to spend time in the sunshine with our lhasa Charlie, who is his very best friend. He loves to come snuggle directly with my face first thing in the morning. He’s a champion at walking on the leash and we recently found out that he’s very gentle and friendly with the neighbor’s chickens (thank god).